Assisted suicide: Motivation is key factor, says Keir Starmer

Relatives who help family members to kill themselves may escape prosecution
even when they benefit financially, under new guidelines.

The advice from Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions, makes clear that anyone assisting suicide who benefits from the death is unlikely to be prosecuted as long as compassion was the "driving force" behind their actions.

Mr Starmer said: "The policy is now more focused on the motivation of the suspect rather than the characteristics of the victim.

"The policy does not change the law on assisted suicide. It does not open the door for euthanasia.

"It does not override the will of Parliament. What it does do is to provide a clear framework for prosecutors to decide which cases should proceed to court and which should not."

The new rules also differs from earlier interim guidance by removing the reference to husbands and wives or close friends being less likely to be prosecuted because of their close relationship to the victim.

They also stepped back from suggesting that those helping terminally ill patients to commit suicide might be less likely to face charges, following accusations that it would offer fewer rights to the most vulnerable.

Responses to the initial guidance, published last year, argued that such relationships could be "antagonistic or manipulative".

The eight pages of guidelines were released this morning along with a 45-page summary of responses.

The vast majority of responses were from individual members of the public.